The player who made the best first impression on me, however, was tight end Taylor Thompson, the fifth-round pick out of SMU who played defensive end in college.

I was initially skeptical about the pick, and it’s way too early to start praising Thompson. I’ll get a better feel for him when the pads come on and defenders can jostle him a bit.

But I was impressed with his athleticism during a brief look on Friday. Thompson caught the ball well, and he can run. He’s tall (6-6) but at 259 pounds he’s well-built.

Linebacker Zach Brown, the second-round pick, was also impressed. Of the overall rookie class he said: “One thing you notice is they all have speed. And the tight end, that big boy can run and he is long. That is a disadvantage to the linebackers. Just seeing him, I was thinking, ‘Man, he’s pretty fluid. He’s not bad.’ ”

Quarterback Nick Stephens, who will compete with Rusty Smith behind Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker, said Wright and Thompson will give the team a pair of new weapons.

“There is so much speed out there it is unreal,” Stephens said. “It is nice to be around guys like that for sure. It makes it easier.”